I went with Jaxon on Friday to get his wisdom teeth out and I have to tell you, that boy is a comedian when he is pumped full of drugs. I thought I would grace you with his “wisdom”, even though it breaks the rules this week (I always seem to break the rules, haha).

I’m still making my way through the audio book from last week and loving every second of it. So, this week will be a teaser from a book I read a few years ago. I think I’ve said this before, but I really enjoy going through the list of books I’ve read on Goodreads. I know it’s not an all-inclusive list of everything I’ve read in my lifetime, but it’s a pretty good one.

The one that flashed out at me was Blackbirds by Chuck Wendig. As you know, I sometimes follow his flash fiction challenge and one day I realized I hadn’t read anything he’d written. I’m happy I decided to pick this one up. I enjoyed the story immensely, and I especially loved how Wendig told it in such a fascinating way. I love strong female characters, even if strong means something a little different in this one. Miriam didn’t always make the choices I would have made, but she’s a survivor and that I could relate to on many levels.

This is the first book in a series, but it’s a good one. I read them all in about a month or less and I would highly recommend all three. Granted, I realize it isn’t for everyone, but if you like it gritty, dark and tell-it-like-it-is humor with quite a bit of cussing, then you should totally go for it.

I pulled the quote from Goodreads since I don’t have the book handy. I hope you enjoy!

“Way she sees it, people fall into one of two categories: those who think their death is imminent, and those who figure they have long, healthy lives ahead of them. Nobody ever thinks it’s somewhere in-between.”

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I’m constantly amazed at the power of the human mind; however, I’m thinking of it more in terms of derailment rather than it’s ability to heal and move on. I spent the entire weekend wanting to escape, and I believe I succeeded rather well. Did it serve a purpose? Well, yes, in the short term. Did it help? Not at all. In fact, I’ve set myself back almost an entire week because my escape choices didn’t lend themselves very well to dieting.

I remember telling myself at one point in my life, probably more than once, that dieting is terrible and I sincerely hoped I would never find myself in a position to have to do it again.

I’ve been thinking though… is it really necessary? It’s so stressful and I spend more time being negative about the way I look, what I’m eating and how I’m feeling than I do being positive about those things, even though I know in my heart that positivity is much better for making any sort of meaningful changes.

So, as of right this moment, I am no longer “dieting”! I’m going to accept myself for what I am right this moment. Am I going to continue to eat less portions? Absolutely! Am I going to keep climbing the stairs every morning at work and adding exercise back into my lifestyle? Yes I am.

What I’m no longer going to do is look at myself in the mirror every day and call myself names or tell myself I’m huge or any of the other terrible things I say to myself. I’m okay just as I am and it’s time I start loving myself again.

When my fiance says negative things about himself, I can honestly tell him that I love him no matter what and he will always be beautiful to me. However, when I say the same negative things to myself, I accept them and feel terrible. Why is it easier to love someone else no matter what than it is to love yourself?

I’ve struggled with self-image my entire life. I believe many people do. And it’s not an easy thing to change. But the only way to change negative self-talk is to replace it with positive words and images.

It’s time to accept myself and the choices I’ve made to get myself to where I’m at today. I believe until I do, I won’t see any real changes.

This song really speaks to me about living in the moment and taking in every aspect of life, whether it’s the highest high or the lowest low. When you make peace with the moment you’re in and accept whatever is happening, it is much easier than fighting against your circumstances. Things change. People move on, life goes on. As hard as it seems, there are bright days just around the corner.

One of my favorite lines is “And I know it’s hard when you’re falling down and it’s a long way up when you hit the ground. Get up now!” As much as I’ve been through, I have always tried to keep going. Some days are bad, but that doesn’t mean good days are gone.

If you love somebody
Better tell them while they’re here ’cause
They just may run away from you

You’ll never know quite when, well
Then again it just depends on
How long of time is left for you

I’ve had the highest mountains
I’ve had the deepest rivers
You can have it all but life keeps moving

I take it in but don’t look down

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I’m on top of the world.

I’ve tried to cut these corners
Try to take the easy way out
I kept on falling short of something

I coulda gave up then but
Then again I couldn’t have ’cause
I’ve traveled all this way for something

I take it in but don’t look down

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I’m on top of the world.

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child

And I know it’s hard when you’re falling down
And it’s a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now.

And I know it’s hard when you’re falling down
And it’s a long way up when you hit the ground
Get up now, get up, get up now.

‘Cause I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
I’m on top of the world, ‘ay
Waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I’ve been waiting to smile, ‘ay
Been holding it in for a while, ‘ay
Take you with me if I can
Been dreaming of this since a child
I’m on top of the world.

Song Lyric Sunday is open to anyone who wants to share music. Please feel free to click the link, read the rules and post one of your own.

I can’t even tell you how much fun I had last Sunday listening to all the songs that were posted about summer. I was worried that I would hear repeats, but you all chose something completely different and I felt like I was drowning in Summer when it was all over. Thank you so much for playing along and posting amazing music.

I can’t believe another week has gone by, but do you know what that mean? It means another Song Lyric Sunday and listening to your fantastic choices!

So, on to the theme…

Sometimes, songs can tear your heart out with their poignant lyrics and gut-wrenching melodies, but usually, those songs make me cry. And I don’t want to cry tomorrow. So the theme for this week is happiness. I know that’s a broad theme, but I’m thinking it’s as simple as choosing a song that just makes you happy; one you can’t help but smile as you listen to it.

As always, you can choose something that has nothing to do with the theme. We are all here sharing music, no matter what it might be.

Here are the “rules”:

Post the lyrics to a favorite song or a new song you want to share

Please try to include the songwriter(s) – it’s a good idea to give credit where credit is due and it’s honestly just a simple Google search

Make sure you also credit the singer/band and provide a link to where you found the lyrics

Link to the YouTube video, or pull it into your post so others can listen to the song

Ping back to this post or my own Song Lyric Sunday post

Read at least one other person’s blog so we can all share new and fantastic music and create amazing new blogging friends in the process

Feel free to use the Song Lyric Sunday badge by copying it into your post or add it to your site to show you are participating.

Something happened during the week and as much as I consider myself a functional human being and a survivor, sometimes an event occurs that lays me low. I haven’t been affected by something quite like this for a long time, so it took me a bit by surprise.

I’ve seen other bloggers post that they need some time off, but I never imagined I would need to do that. Writing is my release, after all. But this time, the only thing I wanted to write had to do with the “event” and I’m not sure writing about it would have done my blog any services. Besides, it’s personal and I believe some things need to stay that way.

I’m still not completely back, but I believe I’m in a better place today than I was a few days ago.

I’m finding comfort this morning in drinking some pretty amazing coffee, seeing my family busy starting their Saturday and despite the shadow over my heart, the sun is shining brightly.

Isn’t it strange how drinking coffee can be such a social event? My fiance can no longer drink coffee and I have to say, it isn’t quite the same enjoying a cup without him. I also find it strange that despite logic, we look to a drink of coffee or alcohol to make everything better. Even knowing it doesn’t, I still find myself turning to it sometimes.

But in the last two days it wasn’t coffee or alcohol that helped me get through the days. It was the people closest to me and for that, I’m extremely grateful. Thank you for being there. Thank you for listening and most of all, thanks for the love.

Well, I'm dyslexic so writing about something I love: Music, might help but it's most likely just full of mistakes. That title is also lyrics from The Drones song called I Don't Want To Change. Oh, my name is William and thanks for having a look.